We recently connected with Kaitlyn Boyé and have shared our conversation below.

Kaitlyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I’m grateful to have premiered my feature film directorial debut at SXSW Sydney this year which I would say is one of the more meaningful career highlights so far. It had been just over a 2 year process leading up to this moment. The film is called Break A Leg – it’s a dark comedy meta-commentary that is talking about the industry and the ways we can exploit each other when we get so wrapped up in the identities of our creative careers.

I’ve been fortunate enough to do my fair share of horror as an actor, but I don’t know if I had ever really let myself feel empowered through horror until Break A Leg. Directing and co-writing/co-starring in this film was an opportunity for me to explore my own relationship with horror through a comedic lens. I wanted give myself a process to really understand what it means to be a ‘scream queen’, what it means to be a woman and an artist in the industry, and I suppose find my own voice through the process.

I grew up as a selective mute, so I think that has been a big theme both literally and metaphorically. It’s been a process of learning to let myself be bold with my opinions, and to let myself scream!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m an actor and a director. I’ve spent the past decade working across film and television in Australia and abroad. I got into this industry through acting, which has always been my first love. I think when you are in a creative career you’ll periodically have these moments where you have to really sit down with yourself and question it. I found myself there in 2019, asking ‘why am I doing this?’

When I sat with it enough I found the answer was “I’m here because I have something to say.”

Making the pivot into filmmaking was a really natural step for me. I had studied briefly at AFTRS after acting school, but I think at the beginning films were a way for me to let myself be honest with myself under the guise that “it’s just a movie”. I was pretty suppressed growing up. Again, I was a selective mute, I learnt to talk through acting. I came from a pretty rocky childhood and had a marginalised upbringing. I live with functional neurological disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder so I think that fed into the fear of using my voice a little bit, but also fed that determination to be here in spite of it all.

As a writer and director I made a number of short films leading up to Break A Leg which is my feature film directorial debut. My short film Straight On ‘Til Mourning is a story on losing childhood and innocence to grief, and won Best Mid-Length Film at SWIFF and Best Screenplay at Canberra Short Film Festival. I won Best Director for my short film Therapy: The Musical which is a quirky …musical… about …therapy. Haha.

That brings us to Break A Leg, my feature, which definitely continues that fascination with the psychological. We had a sold out premiere at SXSW Sydney which has just been so surreal! I’m excited to share it with more audiences through the festival circuit.

Some of my credits as an actor include Abbi Simmons on Home and Away, Alice in Tony D’Aquino’s slasher The Furies and Kate in Jack Dignan’s Puzzle Box. I’m finishing this year shooting roles in Jennifer Van Gessel’s Find My Bones and another horror comedy yet to be announced which will be a lot of fun!

I also work as a self tape and career coach. I’m passionate about helping actors and emerging filmmakers connect to their truth and build sustainable creative practices.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It’ll always be about community for me. I’m the personality type who loves to throw myself into uncharted territories. I’m always trying to understand as much as I can, which is motivated by a passion for teaching and leading. If I can understand, then I can help others understand which is why I love coaching. So that’s always rewarding, but if I had to pick the most rewarding: I don’t think I’ve known a greater honour than directing. I love artists because by nature we are quite sensitive people – we have to be because that’s where we create from! And I love film because the process itself is so vulnerable. It’s one of the only times you’ll get a group of brave, sensitive creatives and you’ll put them in a container for three plus weeks and you all work long hours, and things will come up – personal and production stresses, and still for some reason or another we all go back every day and work towards a greater mission. It’s really special. I try to have a very nurturing approach to my work for that reason. Film is therapy if you let it be. Leading something like that as a director has been a really great privilige.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Be Here Now – Ram Dass
The Artist’s Way – Julia Cameron
The Third Door – Alex Banayan

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/kaitlynboye

Image Credits

Headshot: Photography by Hugh Stewart
Additional images: Photography by Dawei Ye